Clearing out a hedge near our balcony produced a big pile of branches outside my studio. Thorns made it difficult to cut this down for fire wood and kindling. But when I separated the bigger branches from the rest, my eyes caught the interesting lines of their bulging and narrowing shapes. Why do they grow in this way?

Their lines appear to be accidental and unpredictable but they come from a bush or tree with its particular law. Thinking about this these branches to me represented a kind of wildness and freedom within the law of their growth. Laid out in a line they therefore became a kind of “life line”. My interest in lines and borders led me to put these branches up on top of the fence of our field hovering along on eye level. I wanted them to be seen against the horizon suggesting the up and downs of mountains. I put the thinner ends and the thicker ends together therefore creating an up and down sizing within the thickness of the line and hold this up with sticks fastened at our fence posts.

This came about when we prepared the wedding of our son. And so my sculpture became my wedding present. The white of the bride marks the event and gave reason to paint my “life line” white. The line starts at my studio where the couple signed their vows and ends at the entrance of the steps leading up to the yurts where the couple chose to spend a week of their honeymoon .

After this event the appearance of the line changed through out the seasons of the year. The paint faded or flaked away. The wind blew a bow over the exit gate apart. And now the line is our garden line so long as it lasts.

Summer workshop 2010

Info about my workshop at Dance Camp

Wales July/August 2010

My workshop was a try, a coming out, away from my studio work.

I grabbed the chance to be in the open and to work on big pieces and with materials I could get hold off easily from cheap markets, charity shops, gardeners and friends. It took me a while though to work out the best mechanics to fix and hang things.

To start with I simply cut patterns into materials and clothes but I was glad when people came up with ideas of there own eg when somebody came to cut into white long Jones for a rave. My collection of plastic milk bottles were made into wings and attracted attention from passers by as it was being made. The maker told me it led to 40 lengthy conversations which he really enjoyed. Should I sit in the streets next year and offer cut up clothes to passers by in order to stimulate conversations ? One of these thoughts.

My workshop felt more like a street event. I was sitting amongst other tutors who offered the making of craft works in a creative area but I never had that many people around me. I worked on my own pieces and others joined in. I liked that way of working. I didn’t feel pressurised to do anything but to be there. All my materials were around so were my own pieces and that was enough to invite attention. Luckily I could leave everything over night and under a cover.

When it came to the final procession, a kind of carnival event, I had to pull the various pieces together that people had worked on in a kind of frenzy. My camera failed and I got others involved to help me out. But it was fun. Important to me is that this wasn’t the end. Some pieces were taken to a wedding, some other and my own pieces I took home and exhibited in our garden and some ended in the bin. In the true sense from start to finish this was a recycling event. My piece made out of cloth for washing cars is now waving in the wind outside the barn and gets mouldy and green. I might not stand it much longer.

Enjoy the pics.

Any comments

Or inspirational thoughts welcome.

WORKSHOPS

I am preparing to run a workshop in DANCE CAMP WALES 28th July to 8th August 2010 on the theme of “BANNERS, FLAGS AND WINGS”. I will be using natural recycled materials and can’t wait to see what the results will be like. You certainly will see the photos of this event in August on this blog.

THROW AWAYS

What we crumble up and throw away interests me. It is part of the day to day but also worth looking at. Everything studied with care is potentially beautiful and, … I like folds, torn up pieces, cut outs and negative shapes.

“Every bit counts” 2008 consists of 4 pictures with paper snippets being pinned up like precious butterflies. One of these you see above.